May 26, 2026, 2:56 p.m. ET
An oppressive heat wave has settled over western Europe and was blamed for multiple deaths in France, while breaking all-time May temperature records around the region.
May 26 broke the record for the hottest day in May ever recorded in England and Wales, with temperatures reaching 35.1 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and 32.9 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit), respectively, according to the UK’s Met Office. The record-breaking day came after what was described as a “tropical night” in London, where overnight lows didn’t dip below 21.3 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) at the Kenley Airfield.
Among the records broken on May 25 and 26 in the United Kingdom, according to preliminary data, are hottest May day on record, highest minimum temperature or overnight low and hottest U.K. bank holiday on record.
The record-breaking temperatures are under the influence of a high pressure area that’s allowing exceptional heat to build up, reaching levels not previously reported for this time of year, Dan Suri, Met Office Chief Operational Meteorologist, said in a May 25 update.
The high pressure is expected to lose that influence in late May, Suri said. A 2025 study by the Met Office forecasters found the chances of surpassing the May temperature record is more than three times as likely now because of climate change than it would have been without greenhouse gas emissions.
Some parts of France are seeing temperatures that are 50 degrees Fahrenheit higher than usual for this time of year, the Met Office said. May 25 was also the hottest day ever recorded in May in France, Meteo France, the country’s meteorological service, reported. The high Monday in Angoulême, in western France, was 36 Celsius, or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Seven deaths in France have been attributed to the heat, though most were indirectly linked, said French Junior Energy Minister Maud Bregeon on May 26. Five of the seven deaths were drownings at lakes, rivers and beaches.
Experts say Europe’s heat wave isn’t directly linked to weather in the United States. But it could be a harbinger of the hot summer ahead.
Is El Niño to blame for Europe’s heat?
No, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys in an email to USA TODAY.
For starters, El Niño, the planet’s most influential climate pattern, hasn’t even officially formed yet, according to the most recent forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
In addition, El Niño’s strongest global impacts usually come after it’s fully developed. And Europe is far from the tropical Pacific, so the connection is weaker and indirect, NOAA said.
Jon Gottschalck, meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center, told USA TODAY that the heat in Europe “is linked to an ongoing atmospheric blocking and not forced by the [El Niño Southern-Oscillation pattern].”
However, with all these caveats, El Niño can and does load the dice for warmer temperatures across the world. “El Niño events … typically have a warming effect on the global climate,” the World Meteorological Organization said.
What’s next for US weather?
Europe’s heat wave and the United States’ weather aren’t directly linked: “There is no clear link to this extreme heat shifting to North America,” said Gottschalck. “Any heat in the coming weeks would not be linked to ongoing Europe heat.”
However, forecasters have warned that a hot summer is likely in store for most of the United States.
In fact, the summer forecast released May 21 by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center shows that widespread above-average temperatures are expected across much of the country, with the exception of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest.
According to the forecast from NOAA, the June-July-August temperature outlook “favors above-normal temperatures throughout the West, much of the Great Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, and East.”
Specifically, the highest forecast confidence for above-normal temperatures is across the Pacific Northwest, NOAA said.
Above-normal temperatures are also favored for a majority of Alaska.
Contributing: Reuters
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